


Where the Crow Nests

by helical_synodic



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Abusive Bro, M/M, and trees that become people, birds that become people, dryad and avian au, edited and universe made with the help of friends, lots of build up, this will be pretty invested
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-18
Updated: 2016-02-17
Packaged: 2018-03-24 15:57:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,955
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3774670
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/helical_synodic/pseuds/helical_synodic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Karkat was exiled and sent to death. </p>
<p>He accepted his fate. He didn't realize that other people would fight on for him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Step. Step. Deep breath. Another step. Trudge through the thicket. Tremble. Shake. Fall. Get pulled. Get up. Don’t get up. Be dragged. Can’t breathe.

 

Fuck.

 

“Get up, I know you can walk. You haven’t been disconnected for that long. Don’t make things difficult you termite.” The voice was connected to a sharp and cold woman. Someone whose face was just a blur along with everything else in the world.

 

Karkat was too disoriented to see, to think, or even to move. He trembled on the ground. He felt like he should be dead, but yet here he was, barely breathing, wishing he was. A part of him that he was rooted to, almost literally, was ripped from him. Severed, as if by a saw that moved too slow and was too dull. Karkat always thought that he may end up like this, he always hoped that he wouldn’t, though. He was stupid to hope.

 

Then again, he got here because he was being stupid. Because he was a complete and utter idiot.

 

Karkat knew that he wasn’t right. That there was something wrong. Ever since his first winter, he knew. His first winter he was tired and far more lethargic than any other dryad would be. Everyone else was set on a much longer period of wakefulness. He was aware of his situation and he did what any other person would. He hid.

 

Hiding was the only answer in a domain like the dryad’s when you’re a fuck up like Karkat was. He hid for as long as he could. Every year. No one was ever allowed to see his tree. No one was ever allowed over. No one was allowed near him.

 

Yet, people insisted, and they spoke to him if they saw him during his daily routine. There were even people that he liked to think of as friends. He shouldn’t have set them to that fate, though. Hopefully they wouldn’t get punished for association.

 

“Last time, Termite. Get up!”

 

Karkat’s arm was violently jerked up in an attempt to pull him up. Pain shot up his shoulder, but he got up. He felt like he was going to vomit. Karkat took another deep breath and started walking again. His steps were weighted and slow. Ropes rubbed against his wrists, making them chafe. He blinked a few times and looked up. His vision cleared for a moment.

 

The trees made a canopy above Karkat and the guard that was pulling him along. Familiar and cold sunlight filtered through the leaves shining into Karkat’s eyes. He blinked before looking down at the ground.

 

Karkat had never been this far away from his tree before. He never felt the need to. He wasn’t one for adventure or anything like that. He was a survivalist and a realist. He wasn’t all that great at the former. If he was a better one, he probably wouldn’t be in this position right now. If he was a better one, he could probably have gotten more supplies during the summer. If he was a better one, he could have not been caught hibernating when it wasn’t scheduled.

 

While regretting everything that is his existence, Karkat felt cold water over his feet. He stepped in a river. He hadn’t noticed, but they walked all the way to the border of the Dryads’ domain. If they weren’t quick, Karkat wouldn’t be the only one meeting their fate here.

 

He was pulled across the water, useless at swimming in this state, and the closer he got to his destination the more he could feel it. He could feel the sickness of his punishment in the air. It was thick and sour in his nose. He began trembling more as he was stopped.

 

“Azazel, you’re ready, right?” The guard threw Karkat to the ground, against the source of the sickly air.

 

“Yeah, give me some space to work.” The guard nodded and went closer to the river bed. The dryad called Azazel knelt down next to Karkat. “I am so sorry…” She murmured. Karkat looked up at her, eyelids heavy and breathing even heavier. He swallowed as he looked up, they were under a tree; he was finally at the prison in which he would be held until he either died, or was killed.

 

They called this the killing tree; it was enchanted with a sickness that would never go away, and it was just past the Dryad’s territory. The higher-ups in the Dryad council didn’t like to do the dirty work. And the Empress, who has begun to listen to her heiress, started making a ‘clean hands’ campaign, as a way to put it. The heiress herself has a soft heart, which has helped in getting her support from her followers as she comes of age.  In order to keep her influence, the empress takes some of her ideas and uses them. One of them being that the worst punishment possible is exile.

 

Of course, you are exiled right into enemy territory filled with blood thirsty vultures and magically tied to a tree that will kill you if the birds don’t. But hey, that’s all nuances, isn’t it?

 

The matter of keeping a dryad to the killing tree is another thing. When a dryad is born, they are bound to a tree that will help maintain their life for as long as the tree is well. This binding magic was discovered, then used by the Empress to make her empire stronger by linking their lives to the trees and making their life spans the same. This has worked pretty well so far, especially since no one can remember there being another empress.

 

This magic makes the connection to a dryad’s tree strong and it is extremely painful to be separated. Karkat passed out from the pain and as soon as he woke up, he was forced to walk to this tree where he was going to be imprisoned for the rest of his short and pathetic life.

 

Now, he was at that tree, being bound to it by the dryad Azazel. Once she finished she gave him a remorseful look and turned to the guard. “Alright Nepher, it’s done. Can we leave now?”

  
The guard Nepher nodded and started walking back across the river. “Yeah, I don’t feel like being around to watch the vultures rip apart the termite,” and with that lovely image, Karkat watched them cross the river and leave him to his demise. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the majority of this was written by feathercadence, my co-writer. He doesnt have an account here so here's his tumblr  
> http://feathercadence.tumblr.com/  
> and here is our blog for this au, where you can ask us questions and find art for this au! http://wherethecrownests.tumblr.com/

“Holy shit, bro. Watch what the fuck you’re doing man!”

 

“You’re not going to be able to become a respected knight if you can’t learn to defend yourself.” A deep voice retorted; it was authoritative and unwavering, almost to the extent of being heartless.

 

“Alright, first off; I CAN defend mys--”

 

“No, you can’t. You are too offensive and just act without thinking. I can predict almost every move you’re going to make before you even make it, yet you couldn’t even block a basic oberhau.”

 

“It’s not my fault that you’re a shitty teacher! You are nothing but a leichmeister!”

 

Dave snarled at his brother as he stood on the grass, his sword loosely held in his left hand as the tip rest on the ground. He would often train every day with the older Strider, most of the time, not by choice. His brother always telling him that a ‘knight’s skills are to be as sharp as the blade they wield’ and to ‘always be aware of their surroundings’. However, it seemed that Dave wasn’t able to read the movements of his opponent, too focused on trying to hit his target instead of balancing a mixture of offense and defense.

 

He took this verbal sparring match as a time to catch his breath, allowing himself the chance to gain his strength back, at least enough to properly show ‘Bro’ that his skills were just as good as the others.

 

“Dave, you aren’t taking this seriously.” His brother stood tall, his grip on his sword was firm, yet relaxed. Ready to be brought into position at a moments notice. However, he remained calm, his expression stoic and unwavered, using the same tone he always did when he spoke to Dave. It may have sounded emotionless to anyone who had been listening; but, to Dave it was always enough to resonate into his very core.

 

“All you do is basically dodge and block every attack. It’s like you aren’t taking this seriously, just prancing around as though I’m some kind of weird as shit, fucking unknown creature that you don’t know what to do with; yet, goddamn, you still continuously want to peck at me to see if I react in some way… Well guess what, bro. You’ve ruffled my feathers for long enough, it’s time I showed you what I can do!”  

 

He was done taking shit from his brother. He was done dealing with his bullshit antics and he was just all together done. After nineteen years, he was not going to fucking make excuses for his shit any more!

 

Dave tightened the grip on his sword, placing his right hand onto the hilt along with his left hand. He was tired of his brother being so condescending to him all the time, and he was going to show him that he was more than capable of being a revered knight of the avian kingdom.

 

He got himself into a rather aggressive stance, his grip tightening once more as his knuckles started to turn white. He had reached his limit with Bro and was now going to show him just what he had ‘learned’. Ha, Bro doesn’t have a fucking clue what’s coming for him. The adrenaline pumping through his veins was making him confident. Dave got his ass beaten by this pretentious, self absorbed bitchtit many a time; but now, Dave was going to show him what he was made of.  

 

With a sharp puff of air exhaled through his nose, Dave charged at Bro. As he ran towards him, he called his wings to come shooting forth from his back in a flurry of pitch colored feathers and a powerful gust of wind; propelling him forward, giving him a much faster and powerful charge. He raised his sword, and as he came up to Bro, swung down with as much force as he could muster.

 

His effort was met with the sharp sound of metal clashing against metal as the swords met. Bro had called out his own wings. Dave grit his teeth and flew up higher. Bro’s wingspan was larger than Dave’s, his dark brown  and white feathers glinting in the light. When he was younger, it would cause Dave to blink with irritation (this asshole never stopped preening); but the goggles he wore now helped with all light, making it less irritating for Dave, and making the chance of him winning this match much more of a possibility.

 

Bro was coming at Dave now, moving as quickly as ever. Dave only saw him for a moment before he felt something sharp nick his wing, followed by a strange wet sensation on his arm. He grunted in pain as he glanced down to see the damage, a fresh cut was visible on his bicep where his brother’s sword had caught him. The thick red liquid had already begun to make its way down his arm, growing more in quantity with every movement he made, as well as with his increased heart rate. Dave made a quick dash to the side so that he could safely turn and find Bro again. Fuck. He couldn’t lose him already! He was going to win this time. He was going to prove himself.

 

The emotions coursing through his body felt like they were powering Dave. It was ironic; that emotion would be the thing that caused him to stand up so well against Bro, considering he was the one that was always so against showing that you ever felt any. Sometimes, Dave wondered if Bro ever had emotions of his own. He never fathomed the idea when he was younger. His brother, his idol, was too cool for them. He was strong, the strongest person Dave knew, and despite it all, Dave still idolized him now, to some extent, just the frustration of never being good enough for him was starting to get to him.

 

Dave was able to land a few hits onto Bro, even going so far as to cause what would become a permanent mark on his brother’s skin as the tip of his blade sliced across his waist, leaving a reasonable sized gash. For a moment, Dave thought he saw Bro wavering slightly from that last hit, as the other actually retreated somewhat to gain his bearings. Instead of getting the shit beaten out of him in the usual one sided fight he had grown used to. He was able to not only block some of Bro’s strikes, but also deal a significant amount of damage in return.

 

Bro watched as Dave prepared another attack, perhaps some of what he had said earlier had actually sunk in. But then he saw that look on the blond’s face, the look that let him know he was getting cocky again. Just because he had landed a few successful blows, he was beginning to think this was already over before it had even really started. Dave honed in on his brother as he regained himself from the fresh wound he’d received, and he was ready to show him what his worth was.

 

In a moment, Dave and Bro were in a deadlock, the hilts of their blades locked together. Dave was breathing hard, but Bro seemed as collected as ever; even with the blood dripping down his side, he was completely unphased once more. This didn’t discourage Dave. He lifted his leg and pressed his foot against Bro’s chest, using it to push himself back and fly up to gather some distance between them. He looked around, becoming dismayed and somewhat alarmed when he found himself unknowing of where Bro had disappeared to. He’d only taken his attention off him for a second. Shit.

 

There was a flash in the corner of his eye, and instinctively, Dave turned again and swung his blade. He heard another clink of metal and felt a hand firmly grasp his wrist. It was a split second from the connection of steel against steel when Dave felt a solid blow to his gut, and his already injured arm being twisted at the same time, forcing him to release his sword. As he tried to gather back the air that was knocked out of him, he looked down through quickly watering eyes and gazed in horror as his sword fell to the ground. Fuck. Everything.

 

As he watched his weapon fall, Bro spotted the chance he had been waiting for. Unarmed and injured, he knew Dave would be unable to defend himself against any further attacks. Dave just hoped that whatever move his brother had planned to make, would come swiftly. He had started to ache, his arm was bleeding, breathing labored and his wings were damaged; they could barely cause enough lift to keep him afloat.

 

Dave watched as the eldest Strider came hurtling towards him at an almost ungodly speed, sword primed and ready to deliver a devastating blow. It hurt to breath. But it would all be over soon. He took in one last, deep, shaky breath and flew towards his brother, trying to match his speed as best he could. Since he no longer had a weapon, he had only his fists to protect himself and he hoped that would be enough. It had to be enough. If he could just get hold of Bro’s sword, he could regain the upper hand and win this fight.

 

The pair were making way for a head on collision. Everything around him had gone silent, the water flowing along the nearby river, the wind rushing past him as he flew, the sound of the leaves rustling in the breeze. Nothing. All Dave could hear was each breath he took; loud, shallow and uncertain. He could feel his heart beating hard, pumping the blood, rage and last remaining reserves of energy through his veins. Everything seemed to be going in slow motion, his head was pounding and it felt like it was ready to explode. But he wasn’t giving up, not now.

 

He reached towards Bro’s hand, hoping to grip onto his wrist, praying the sweat wouldn’t affect his grip. But, before he even got the chance to get so much as nail against the skin of the other, the image of his brother faded from view. Even if he had managed to grab him, it would have been useless as what Dave had seen was not the physical form of his brother but rather the remnants of where he had been. As Dave slowly started to realize of Bro’s misdirection, he felt a sharp pain in his back. All the sounds, movements, everything suddenly came flooding back as he was brought back to the here and now from the heel of his brother’s foot that had planted itself firmly between his shoulder blades. There was nothing more he could do. He was helpless. The pain and location of the blow caused temporary loss of the use of his wings.

 

Dave could no longer keep them moving or keep himself airborne as he soon found himself spiraling toward the ground, unable to pull himself out of the downward momentum. He closed his eyes, bracing himself as much as he could for the inevitable, and most likely devastating impact along with the possibility of broken bones. His wings, rather than flapping to reduce the speed at which he was falling, wrapped around his body, trying to create a protective cocoon as best he could.

 

As he crashed into the ground his body slid along the floor, leaving a trail of mud and debris in his wake. When he finally came to a stop, some several meters from the original impact site, his wings unfolded and he lay sprawled across the ground on his back.

 

Now covered in a mixture of dirt, sweat, feathers, blood and an overwhelming sense of failure, he let out a pained groan as he opened his eyes. A large shadow cast over him as the figure of his brother loomed before him, staring down at the blond with a look that showed only contempt and disappointment.

 

Dave had grown accustomed to seeing that expression on his brother’s face, and though he tried to mask the fact that it didn’t affect him, deep down, he felt the pain and guilt of not being able to live up to his brother’s expectations. It wasn’t just Bro though that held himself with such high regard, the others of the avian kingdom also revered the older Strider; not just for his skills, but also for his undying services to the high council.

 

Bro would follow their commands without fail, almost like he was some kind of puppet on a string; not a single thought or action of his own, unable to differentiate between right and wrong, the line of which had become blurred to him long ago. Now he was following orders once again, training Dave to follow within his footsteps. With the high council’s plan of controlling both the Striders, they believed that the avians would be strong enough to stand unopposed by their many rivals, including the most hated of all; the dryads.

 

“Come back to the nest when you’re ready,” Bro’s only parting words were cold and laced with disappointment. Dave watched him as he changed completely. Where Bro stood, a crested eagle left.

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> omg that came out quickly. but here it is, the moment you've probably been waiting for! (considering this is a davekat fic i would hope you would have been waiting for this)

The sound of leaves and branches crunching caused Karkat to look up from his stupor. His eyes felt heavy and breathing was still difficult. In the distance he could see two figures. They were blurry, and something about them was off. He didn’t know there were humanoids on this side of the river. Karkat was always told of the hunched-back vultures that controlled this domain. Cannibalistic monsters that tear even the people close to them to shreds. Beings, things, more disgusting than anything else. Karkat didn’t expect to see people. 

Something about the two he saw were off though, yet Karkat’s vision wasn’t good enough to tell what it was. It seemed like these people had shadows dancing around them as they moved. Karkat blinked. His sight cleared and that was when he noticed one of them was gone. Maybe he was hallucinating. That was probably it. Shit, if his vision was clearing, then he must either already have died from being disconnected; that, or despite this tree being sick, Karkat was miraculously getting some of his strength back by being connected once more. 

As he watched the other figure get up, Karkat realized that he should probably hide. There was a high probability that he wasn’t alive anymore, but if he was, he didn’t want to risk the chance of actually getting killed. He dragged himself to the other side of the tree; he tried to change form, but he could feel something blocking him from synchronizing with the tree. Either this tree was enchanted with a blocking curse, or, Karkat was dead; at this point, he was really hoping that it was the latter. 

The figure approached; in their hand, they held a broad sword. Karkat saw the figure hit it against the ground a few times; he took a deep breath as he watched, allowing himself to take in the clear sight of the figure. 

Now, Karkat was most certain that he was dead, because there was no way that what he was seeing was anything other than an angel. He had heard of them from a friend that was a history buff, who learned what he could about human history and mythos from long before they discovered magic. He told Karkat about angels, and how they guarded the afterlife. Karkat told him that that was a bunch of bullshit. There was no way that there was something like that in any plain of existence. Yet… here he was. 

Shining wings, black like the night, were glinting in the sunlight that filtered through the trees. There were splashes of red, blood, on one of his wings and arm, dripping past golden tan skin and onto the forest floor. His chest was bare, painted with a red mark of what looked like a bird’s foot print and marred by dirt and scrapes. His arms were decorated with gold and leather bands. There looked like something that could be described as a leather holster on his left wrist, possibly to conceal a knife. Karkat couldn’t tell at this distance though. Around his waist was a long crimson cloth; maybe a belt? Karkat watched as the figure used it to sheath his sword-that didn’t look very practical. The muscles on his legs were easily shown through the tight fabric that encompassed them. Tight clothing was pretty uncomfortable in Karkat’s opinion, but the view wasn’t anything to complain about. 

Finally, Karkat found himself looking at the stranger’s face. He was closer now, his lips moving, but it was too quiet for him to hear. Carefully, Karkat hid more behind the tree, hoping to not be seen as he looked upon this person’s face. Goggles were obscuring a good portion of it, and Karkat couldn’t get a clear picture of what his eyes looked like, but the rest of his face was nothing short of handsome. His fair hair rest on his head in waves and Karkat curled his fingers against the bark of the red hickory tree at the sight. 

When Karkat saw the person turn his head so he was looking vaguely in Karkat’s direction, quickly he moved behind the tree, turning so his back was against the bark. He swallowed, eyes wide, looking at the ground; he didn’t want to get caught at all, let alone caught ogling someone that just happened to be pleasing to the eye. Fuck, Karkat could hear him move closer to the tree, then more shuffling. Shit, Karkat was pretty sure that he was now sitting on the other side of this tree. Awesome. 

“Man, this is fucked,” Karkat heard the other person speak, and for a moment, he was sure that he was already found out. He bit his lip and turned his head before the person spoke again. 

“He should have just told me that I’m never gonna be a fucking knight. It would be easier than getting the shit beat out of me everyday.” 

Well, that didn’t sound like Karkat had been discovered. 

“Shit, Rose would probably just say that he’s doing it ‘cause he wants to protect me or someshit. I guess that’s cool, but he could also stop sucking so much at being a protector. He could do that too and I wouldn’t mind all that much. No, really, man. I wouldn’t mind at all.” There was a sigh following those words, then silence. 

Karkat felt like he was intruding on a personal moment. Then again, it wasn’t his fault that this guy talked to himself when he thought he was alone. Karkat let out a quiet sigh; this was starting to get uncomfortable. He knew he should say something to get him to go away, maybe he should throw a rock or something. Yeah, that always worked in the books. Karkat moved onto his hands and knees and carefully crawled over to the river side, trying to grab one of the rocks. He wrapped his hand around one and tried to use his other hand to bring himself back to an upright position. However, he found himself slipping on a loose rock, causing his hand to slide forward and some other rocks to tumble down the slight slope. Karkat hissed in pain as he looked up. 

And there he was. Karkat looked up to see the person, his sword drawn, pointed at Karkat. With a sigh, Karkat let go of the rock in his hand, his eyes locked with the others. 

The eyes staring down at Karkat looked a light brown behind the goggles. They were pretty, Karkat thought. 

“What are you doing here.” It was posed like a question, but it didn’t sound like one. “I know what you are, and you’re supposed to be on the other side of that there river.” He kicked his foot in the direction of the water.

Turns out that Karkat wasn’t dead. However, he was now confused as to what this person was. If it was on the avian side of the territory, then logically speaking, this person was a vulture. Yet, he didn’t look like anything like what Karkat was told about them. 

“Well obviously, I’m here to die. So, go on then. I don’t have all day. If you want to impress whoever it is that you wanted to impress, or whatever, just kill me, decapitate me, bring my head back as a trophy and then my body to eat. Just do it quickly.” 

The look of disgust on the other’s face was surprising and almost funny. “Dude, what? Ew no! Eat you? What the fuck? Man, that is so fucking nasty I don’t even know where to start? Where the fuck did you even get that- Never mind. I don’t want to know. I mean, like, is that what happens to the people that go on the other side of the river? Do you guys eat the people that trespass?” That sounded like a serious question. 

“Oh my god, no. Who the fuck actually eats people? I mean, obviously aside from cannibals.” Karkat huffed. He was pretty insulted by that insinuation. “Look, I’m tired, and if you don’t want my death to be drawn out, just kill me now. I mean, I’m already prone, now’s your chance to do it. Hurry up I don’t have all day.” 

The other’s face became neutral aside from a slight furrow in his brow. He looked as if he was contemplating. Karkat wished he would just get it over with, though. The more time he had, knowing he was about to die, the more his fear started to creep up his spine. Karkat looked to the ground. He didn’t want to die. 

“What do you mean if I don’t want your death to be drawn out?” Karkat could tell that there was carefully hidden emotion. Or maybe he just hoped there were. Though Karkat didn’t want this person’s pity. He didn’t want to seem pathetic before he died. He already spent his life having people think he was pathetic. Including himself. 

“Doesn’t matter. Just, hurry up. Like I said, I don’t have all day.”

There was a beat of complete silence between the two before Karkat noticed that he tightened his grip on his sword. His fingers had blood crusted on them. Karkat wondered if all of it was his own for a moment before looking down. It didn’t matter. After this, there would definitely be more blood on his hands. And Karkat guessed he was grateful for that. In a way. 

Another beat of silence. 

“Man, I can’t do it.” 

Karkat looked up. “What?”   
“I can’t just kill you? You’re just laying there looking sick and helpless. I’m not even a hunter, I can’t do this.”

“Oh my fucking god. Out of an entire race of bloodthirsty vultures, I would get the only one not comfortable with killing. Of course, I’m never actually allowed to catch a break. My life has to end slowly with a final ‘fuck you!’” Karkat let his face fall to the ground and took a deep breath. 

“I don’t know where you got the idea that we’re all bloodthirsty or that we’re all vultures. I’m a crow, actually. So, excuse you.” 

“Does it look like I give a shit gargling fuck what kind of bird thing you are? Because I really don’t. At all. In fact, my interest in that is so low, people are starting to find diamonds and gold. Sadly though, they have yet to find a semblance, a sign, or anything even remotely resembling, a fuck.” 

“Wow, that’s something you should totally say to the person that just spared your life. Whoever taught you how to interact with people did a really fantastic job at doing just that.” 

Karkat let out a groan and pushed himself to sitting up. “Well I didn’t want you to spare my life now, did I? It would be easier for both of us if you just killed me now.” 

“Stop saying that, man. Don’t you realize how fucking sad that is? You can’t just say that to a person.” 

Karkat was honestly so done. “Well if you can’t do it, why don’t you get someone that can?” Karkat may be feeling better now, but once the sickness starts to sink in, Karkat won’t be able to do anything. It would be easier to just get it over with so he didn’t have to suffer. However, what he said didn’t seem to bode well with the crow. 

“Why do you want to die so badly?” 

“Because I’m going to die anyway.” 

“Well, aren’t we all?” 

“That isn’t what I mean.” Karkat rubbed his temples and stood himself up. Karkat adjusted his pants. White was the color of death for the dryads. White was the color he was forced to wear to his trial. They didn’t bother getting him clothes that actually fit him.   
Once standing, Karkat stood an inch shorter than the other. He pointed to the killing tree. “You see that?” 

“Uh, yeah. It’s a tree,” The crow raised a brow, seemingly unimpressed. 

“Yes, it is a tree. Now I’m going to assume that you’re smart enough to realize that I am a dryad and that trees are important to my survival.” A nod of the head. “That tree is sick.” 

The other looked at the tree, seeming to consider this. “Alright, so change trees if it’s making you sick. I mean, I don’t know why you would come to a tree in our territory, that seems pretty stupid.” 

“I didn’t come here voluntarily! I was exiled here.” Karkat honestly didn’t want to give out his whole life story to this asshole before he died, but if in the end he got a pity stabbing, then fine. Whatever. 

“You were exiled. So you’re a criminal?”

Karkat honestly didn’t know how to answer that. One didn’t need to be a criminal to be exiled, you just had to be someone the empress didn’t like. But the other probably wouldn’t believe him.

“Well, if you call daring to exist and tarnishing the name of the empire by existing a crime then yeah, sure. I’m a criminal. If your definition includes that I had to have done something that directly hurt someone in some way, then no, I’m afraid I’m not. But hey, at this point, it doesn’t fucking matter anyway, so who cares!” 

“Oh dude, that’s so shitty.”

Karkat sighed and sat back down, his back against the tree. “Yeah, tell me about it.” 

“Isn’t there some way you can leave the tree? Or cure the sickness?” 

“No, not that I know of.” 

Karkat sighed and he looked over to see the other sitting a few feet away from him. 

“I don’t want to see you die, man. This shit is just seriously fucked.” 

“You don’t have to keep reminding me.” Karkat pulled his knees to his chest and looked out to the water. 

“Sorry.”

The atmosphere seemed to settle around them and it was quiet and awkward. 

“Will you be the only one coming around here?” Karkat asked. Maybe the next one won’t be so… sympathetic. 

“You might get one or two others. But leaving you to that seems… Not right.” 

“Well you’ll have to leave eventually, right. Just get it over with. No use dragging it out for the both of us.” 

Karkat turned his head and looked at the other. He found himself being stared at. The other didn’t look away. 

“You know, I’ve been looking for a new place to nest.” 

“Excuse me?” 

“My people are pretty territorial. If I nested around here, it becomes my territory.” 

“That sounds like you’re just trying to make yourself feel better about the situation.” Despite that, Karkat can’t seem to blame him for that though. The position he must be in can’t be all that great. This crow certainly isn’t the bloodthirsty killer that he was made to believe. 

“Maybe I am. Shit, I’ll feel better if I can at least try to help you not die because you obviously don’t deserve it and even if you’re a part of that really shitty people over on that other side of the river, I can’t knowingly waste a life like that. So yeah. Besides, I dunno, this tree is pretty cool. It has some branches up top that look like they would be decent for holding a nest,” He finished with a small shrug. 

“You know what? Fine, whatever. It’s not like I can feasibly stop you. It would have been easier for you to kill me, but since you like making things difficult, I’ll suffer through.” Maybe it would be nice to not die alone. Karkat just hoped that he wouldn’t end up regretting this.   
“Alright, cool. I’ll be back later then. I need to get some things.” 

“Take your time.” 

The other stood up and stretched out his wings. They were large and very, very beautiful. He looked up at the sky as he stretched, and when he finished, looked at Karkat, “I’m Dave, by the way.” 

“Karkat.” 

He got a nod in response, and then, before his eyes, Dave turned into a crow and flew off. 

Karkat sincerely hoped this wouldn’t turn for the worst.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm working alone now. I'm going to be working more slowly. Sorry. But hopefully there won't be as long a wait as that was again.
> 
> This will be the last chapter that has writing other than my own. It was half written when we stopped talking so I just finished it up.

Dave took his time to fly back to his nest. Normally he wasn’t one for taking the scenic route, always preferring the same well travelled and familiar path, but the mixture of a wounded wing and pride meant he was not looking forward to getting back. Especially with Bro being there, waiting, judging.

The sun had started its descent in the sky as he glided through the air, his black feathers absorbing all light as he passed, his wings spread wide as he used the breeze to carry himself. A small void in an endless expanse of fiery crimson and gold.

Dave perched himself on a nearby branch of an unoccupied tree. He tilted his head up towards the sky, staring as the colors changed before him. He let out a quiet caw before bringing his head back down, that was when something glinted out of the corner of his eye, quickly drawing his attention. 

He made his way down to the ground, hopping along the floor towards the stream of water. The river went on for miles and Dave would often check it for discarded objects, usually finding himself quite a good haul. He had collected many buttons, pebbles, broken jewellery and the like. As he approached, he spotted the object which had caught his eye as it shimmered, the water splashed over it and onto the bank rhythmically. His eyes darted across the water skeptically as he examined the object more closely. It appeared to be a bead of some kind, swaying with the current.  
Dave couldn’t resist the hypnotic movements of the shining object before him and he started to peck at a couple of times. The water quickly rushing over his talons as he stood in the cold river. In a way it was soothing, it helped to wash away the feelings that had accrued that day, from anger to disappointment, confusion to sadness, all disappearing for a brief moment; eliciting only calmness. The object in the river the only thing on his mind.

Ordinarily crows wouldn’t collect shiny objects, but Dave was different. He had a penchant for collecting weird things he found on his flights, miscellaneous trinkets and baubles that intrigued him, and often held particular memories to him. What would seem like unnecessarily hoarded junk to others, was in fact a smörgåsbord of events that had taken place during his life so far.

A simple red button, broken along one edge with a crack running down the middle. To Dave, it was the day he’d first learned to fly. He was only a fledgling and it had been tough going; Bro wasn’t really any kind of teacher, in fact he would just throw Dave out of the nest repeatedly. He was quick to learn shifting and how to reduce his falling speed, but unable to get the hang of actually flying. Then one day Bro had come back from hunting, ready to give Dave another shove out of the nest as though he was some kind of unwanted trash, tarnishing the carefully constructed and designed layout of their living space. This time though, instead of hitting the ground Dave’s movements finally gave him lift and he was soon flying. What he lacked now however was proper navigation and control. Overly excited about this new ability he wanted to show Bro how good he was, doing whatever he could to impress his older brother, hoping to make the one he looked up to proud of him. 

He started to fly all over the place, swerving from side to side in strange zigzag motions; not having learned the area properly he ended up flying off and getting himself lost on the edge of the avian domain. Tired and hungry, Dave came to rest by the river, reverting back to his human form as it took a lot of energy to stay shifted, and he had expended almost all of his alone trying to fly. Not to mention he was still young, he didn’t have the stamina to keep his avian form for long.

Dave was on his own and needed to eat, that was when he spotted something red in the water. Thinking it might have been a berry or something similar he picked it up to take a closer look at it. Discovering it was only a button he went to drop it back into the water with a heavy sigh, but before his fingers parted he took another look at it. It was damaged, but the fact it was broken was what interested him. The fact it had gone missing from whatever garment it originally sat upon; once important, filling a hole to keep whatever was behind it from being visible to world, now alone and missing. Strangely, Dave felt a connection to it as he walked over to a tree and pressed his back against it, sliding down to the ground with a small thud. He was lost and alone.

Eventually Bro had managed to find him, sleeping at the base of the tree with a hand clasped firmly shut. He hopped over to the sleeping child and gave him a nudge with his talon to check if he was still alive. Dave shifted slightly showing that he was at least still breathing and responsive. Satisfied with that Bro changed into his human form, picking up his brother and holding him in his arms. He called forth his wings and flew them both back to where they lived, leaving Dave to continue sleeping.

Now here the young Strider was once more, at the river’s edge and alone. This time though of his own accord.

He picked up the bead in his beak, but as he did so he spotted the movement of another bead which appeared to be connected to it via a thin piece of wire. He gave the first a jerk to see if he could dislodge the other from it but it was held fast. Dave dropped the original onto the floor and hopped over to the second bead, pecking at it a little before putting it in his mouth like the first. Again something caught his eye as he did so. It appeared there were several colored beads threaded together and attached to what seemed like a piece of paper or card, resting on the grass beside them. He let the object in his mouth fall before going back to the first bead, picking it up once more. Once more he had found an object in the river that he could add to his collection of memories.

As he made sure he had a good grip on the item, he started to flap his wings and run along the bank, picking up enough speed that he could carry his new treasure back home. The light had started to fade and soon he would fade along with it, disappearing into the darkness. Or at least he wished he could. But for now he had to return to the roost.

The card swayed beneath Dave as he flew through the night. Due to their natural ways of life there was little to no pollution of any kind, be it light or smog. This allowed the countless stars in the sky to shine brightly, the large silver moon in the sky illuminating the clouds. 

It wasn’t long until he made it home, back to the nest. He had his own area in the tree, lower than his guardian’s. He placed his new treasure in a small hollow where he placed all his other treasures before checking to see if Bro was at the nest. Dave was glad to see that he wasn’t. 

This would be the last night. The last night he lived in fear. The last night he trembled when he heard the branches shift and creak. The last time he jumped when he heard that loud cry. Maybe he had a few selfish reasons for wanting to help that tree, Karkat. Any reason to get out a good reason, Dave figured. 

The fact he couldn’t help but think maybe he could have someone to talk to about not being wanted would be nice too.


	5. Chapter 5

Of all the fears Dave could have, all that he heard about, one that always stood out to him was the fear of the dark. Not because it applied to him, but because there was something about the darkness of night that made him feel just the bit more safe. He was hard to see at night because of his dark feathers, and Bro never seemed to attack him once the sun had set and twilight had passed. The dark was safe. 

But night ended too quickly. Especially now that the seasons were changing and days were becoming longer. 

Dave’s sleep ended much more abruptly than night, with talons digging into his sides before he was thrown onto the ground. The clang of metal against rock made him turn his head, seeing his sword a few feet away from him. Dave looked up, his eyes locked on his guardian, standing before him, looking down at him, eyes piercing. 

A glance down told Dave that he was bleeding. Dave wanted to vomit. 

“You were too easy to get,” Bro said. 

“I was asleep!”

“So? You’re going to get attacked when you’re most prone. You can’t let that happen. I’ve been telling you that for years. Get up.” 

The transition between bird and human was smooth. At least, it felt that way for Dave. It was quick, too. It had to be quick. 

Dave grabbed his sword before standing. He didn’t want to do this. He never did. The pain in his side really made him not want to fight. He could hardly stand up straight. 

“You’re training is supposed to end soon. You’re not a kid anymore, but you still act like one.” Bro’s voice was hard, his entire essence was far more composed than Dave’s. 

Probably since he wasn’t ripped from sleep, Dave thought bitterly. 

“You haven’t gotten any better,” Bro continued. “I doubt you will anyway. I’m sure this is a waste of my time.” 

Dave’s face twisted. “Then why bother beating the shit out of me all the time you bastard?” Dave growled.   
Face plain as ever, Bro answered, “Might as well try to make you worth something.” Then he pounced and Dave clumsily brought his sword up to protect himself. The clang of metal against metal was soon followed with a kick to his gut, pushing Dave to the ground. Dave got up again. 

And again. 

And again. 

And again. 

Until he couldn’t anymore, and he was gasping and panting and coughing and trembling. Bro shook his head and flew off in an instance. 

Dave’s limbs and chest were bruised to hell and back. His chest was smeared with blood, and he is sure he sprained his ankle or something. Nothing broken this time. He hoped. Dave let himself lay there for a while, looking up through the trees to the sky. It was clear that day, no clouds, the air cool enough to sooth Dave’s burning skin. 

He wasn’t sure how long passed - too long, probably - until he got up. He grabbed his sword and dragged it along behind him until he made it back to his roost. He looked up to the tree, squinting. He didn’t exactly have time to put his goggles on this morning. He huffed. Seriously, fuck that guy. 

Dave changed so his wings came forth. He always felt better with his wings. He honestly prefered either just having them out, or being a bird to being in his human form. He just felt more confident. It felt more natural, believe it or not. He remembered reading something about how controversial magic was way back when. When it was all deemed evil. Honestly, Dave had heard of what humans had done before magic, how the world around them was only stone and metal. No green, hardly any food, the sky dark and inky, skies always grey, to him, that sounded more evil than this. But Dave made it a habit to not think things too black and white. He was sure people had their reasons. They may not have known better, Dave didn’t know, but it was pretty interesting in his mind. 

Dave flew up into the tree and to his nest, perching on a branch and grabbing his goggles. He’s need a basket for all his trinkets. He was leaving today. 

He was leaving today. 

Karkat.   
Dave’s brow furrowed. He had almost forgotten about the dryad he found yesterday. Dave hoped he was still okay. Honestly, the way that Karkat was talking yesterday, Dave figured he should probably be rushing. Karkat mentioned a drawn out death. Dave wouldn’t put it past the guy to do something really stupid. 

Dave’s hands wrapped around his middle, covering his cuts with bandages. The padding he put over each gash made sure that blood didn’t seep through. 

It was as he was finishing up that an obnoxious jay landed on his perch. Dave looked to him. He got cawed at. Dave spread his wings out with a grin ‘accidentally’ knocking the bird off his perch. It took an instant before another boy was sitting on the branch with him. 

“Wow, rude, Dave. That is no way to treat your best Bro. I’m hurt. Also, I want a divorce.” 

“I was planning on moving out anyway.” 

“Ouch.”

Dave let out a soft laugh. He liked hanging out with John. He was kind of an asshole at times, but mostly he was just cool and funny. 

“So, Dave, I was thinking that if you didn’t have to train today… Or I guess you already did? Looks like you didn’t do well?” John asked, eyeing the bandages. 

John didn’t know how Dave’s training went. No one did. Dave didn’t tell anyone. He didn’t want to tell anyone. He didn’t want anyone else to figure out how fucking shitty he was. 

“It was fine. Couldn’t block a stray talon. No big deal man,” He replied with a shrug, picking at the bands that held his feather to his arm. He shouldn’t mess with his source of magic, but it was just a nervous habit. 

“Oh, well in that case, I was thinking we could head over to the city today. I haven’t been in a while, and I wanna check out some of the stores there.” 

The city was much different than what Dave was used to. The people there hardly changed into birds, even making houses instead of nests. It was much more like what Dave read about the humans. Dave remembered the last time he was there. The people still lived in the trees, but there were bridges, and everything was connected. You didn’t need to fly anywhere. Dave wasn’t sure he could handle it. Being human was so constricting. Thumbs were nice, but dave preferred his wings. 

“Can’t today, man. Meant it when I said I’m moving out. Found a new place I wanna set up. Leaving the nest, making a new one. Maybe the day after tomorrow or something,” Dave explained, reaching to his stash and started to carefully pull out his treasures. 

“Woah! Really? You’re moving and you haven’t even shown me where? As your best friend I demand to see if this place you’re going is suitable!” John said petulantly. 

“Shit,” Dave breathed. He should have known John would pull something like that if he said something. It wasn’t like he couldn’t say anything though, because John would wonder why he wasn’t at his tree with Bro anymore. 

Dave pulled the bookmark he found yesterday. It was a little dirty from the mud of the stream. He chipped at the dirt on one of the beads. “I dunno man, I’ll show you when it’s all set up. It’s nice though. Near some water. Rose would like it. It’s to the west,” Dave said. He hoped John would take that as an answer. 

He looked over at his friend. John’s blue eyes were piercing and curious against his dark skin. Dave wanted to shy away. 

“Fine. You can show me tomorrow.” 

Dave sighed. That didn’t give him a lot of time to figure out what to do about Karkat, but fuck, it would have to do. Dave wasn’t sure he’d be able to fight with John on this. The look on his eyes and the pout on his lips was telling Dave that John was doing him a favor. 

“Okay, yeah tomorrow.”

“Then we go to the city.”

“Yeah.” 

“Why won’t you let me see it now!” John whined. “Is it shitty? It’s shitty, isn’t it? Did Bro kick you out? Because if that’s it man, you can live with me and Dad, it’ll be cool.” John said seriously. 

“No, Bro didn’t kick me out. Dude look, it’s fine. I saw it, and decided that it’s time for me to chill out. You know, get my own place. I’m like, almost an adult now,” Dave said, the feathers on his wings puffing out with his chest. 

“You are so lame.”

“Fucking rude.”

“Just saying, it better not be shitty when I see it,” John said, flapping his wings. “Anyway, I’ll leave you to being the ‘cool kid’” John actually used air quotes, “that decided he needed to leave the nest, while I go and do some stuff without my best bro. I guess.” John rolled his eyes and Dave scoffed. 

“Okay, see you later.”

“See ya, Dave!” John jumped, and a blue jay left. 

Dave looked down at the bookmark. He could figure out what to do while he was moving his things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> who the fuck is john and how do you write him???
> 
> also u can hit me up @adrischirping.tumblr.com

**Author's Note:**

> http://wherethecrownests.tumblr.com/
> 
> We have a blog where you can check out art and updates or ask us questions! If you like the fic, maybe you can check it out!


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